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Casino License Could Have 5 Applicants

There could be as many as five companies vying for a resort casino license in the Greater Boston (Region A) area following the deadline for companies to get in on gaming last Tuesday, Jan. 15th.

The Cordish Company of Baltimore told the Journal in a press release that they are not certain yet if they will pursue a casino license or a slots-only license. They also are not certain just where they will pursue any potential license – it could be Boston or it could be western Massachusetts.

Under the new gaming law, a company does not have to specify a site for development until applying for the Phase 2 portion of regulatory review.

The Cordish Company filed last Tuesday under the corporation PPE Casino Resorts MA, which is associated with the principal owners of Cordish. They also paid their $400,000 non-refundable licensing fee.

Managing Partner Joe Weinberg said Cordish is still evaluating several “excellent sites” within the state and deciding between the Category 1 and 2 licenses.

“We are very enthusiastic about the Massachusetts market and look forward to working with the State and the Massachusetts Gaming Commission on our application,” said Weinberg in a release.

Cordish’s application came out of the clear blue sky for most who have followed the expanded gaming discussion, and its vagueness hasn’t helped in guessing where its sudden interest came from.

The Cordish Company does have one colorful connection with one prominent applicant, that of Suffolk Downs’ principal partner Richard Fields.

According to old media reports from 2005, Fields had a very public personal and legal battle with his former friend Donald Trump. Fields had apparently been the manager of Marla Maples – Trump’s ex-wife – at one time and the two got close. Then, they decided to partner in developing the Hard Rock American Indian (Seminole) casino in Hollywood, FL. When Trump backed out, Fields recruited the services of the Cordish Company – so it goes. Trump took offense when Fields and Cordish were successful in establishing the casino, filing a lawsuit in which both Fields and Trump made no bones about their deteriorating friendship.

It was Fields’ first casino development, and it came with Cordish – who, interestingly enough, replaced “The Don.”

Additionally, the Massachusetts Gaming and Entertainment corporation – controlled by Chicago gaming and real estate investor Neil Bluhm (Rush Street Gaming – has been equally as vague in its submission to the Mass Gaming Commission (MGC).

They also have not specified a type of license (casino or slot) or a region where they want to locate. However, officials from the company have indicated publicly that they have looked at sites in Boston for a potential casino or slot parlor.

A spokesperson from Rush Street Gaming did not respond to a request for comment from the Journal in time for this story.

Rush Street Gaming is one of the few companies in the mix of applicants that has experience developing urban casinos – having successfully put a casino in Philadelphia.

All told, last week’s barrage of applications – potentially five for Greater Boston – is a dramatic departure from where things were just a few months ago when it appeared that Suffolk Downs was the only game in town.

I am appalled that this city would open a casino,the three top addictions that not only ruin ones personal life but creates family promblems to no end.gambling is the hidden addiction cause it has no physical signs like alcohol or drugs.it causes the same harm and in cases much worse.growing up in this city all my life in between a dog track and horse track you are most definite to engage in it sometime.gambling simply destroyes oneself badly and always seperates a family, causes the lost of jobs and when you have no money u will find anyway to get some,steal manipulate people and when you lose everything including your loved ones then you may think of ways to rid yourself of the pain.remember gamblers live lonely lives and never want anyone to know what they do..you end up lying to everyone and make the worse decisions.you owe so much you need to escape from everyone and most likely cant go any where that people know you cause you owe them money.i know more then handfuls of people who have lost there house and all the things they have worked for and know people who have taken there lives cause you run out of people to turn to.no one pays attention to this disabling addiction cause like everything else the government and the state makes out on your money but gives no care to where you end up in life or who you lose.its sad that this city is asking people to hand over there money cause they cant do the job that we pay them to do..i am not even talking about the other things it brings to a city with a high crime rate already and the traffic it will cause the residents..there is nothing in it for the people of revere,is your car insurance gonna go down, most likely will go up,your taxes gonna go down,most likely never, will it bring people into the city along with prostitution and more crime and drugs,ABSOLUTELY..the biggest laugh is they will say JOBS..people will lose more time from family and most will lose there job trying to make a score where you have a 100% chance of ever getting ahead.the people of this city need to speak out and weigh all the benefits good and bad,the out come will never be good..putting a casino in a urban city where they say has a lot of poverty is just crazy..economy is bad,food is high,gas is high and trying to keep your kids from picking up bad habits in a city like this is a daily job.. ..the casino is glamorous to suck you in,free drinks some free food but at the end of the day your broke and have to start the week off back to work for nothing..i guarantee what I have said will happen..why has other towns in the state with much higher capita turned it down..hhmm wonder why…u all work hard and again don’t want your kids or yourself falling into a hideous addiction that gets worse by the day and the only people that make out is the state and all the fat cat politicians…if they really cared about the residents would they ask you to spend your money that most of us don’t have..hard enough to keep the fridge full never mind keeping the rich richer…AGAIN DONT FALL FOR THE JOBS PROMO…make them get us jobs that do not require other peoples money or should I say dirty money cause that is what gambling is,dirty money!!! I feel bad they are willing to subject this to us and the kids of the city and all the other greater boston cities that have low capita…don’t give your money up that easy and the common sense of what it brings along with it..ITS ALL BAD..it will cost more jobs then it ever ever creates along with what I said above,gotta trust a long life resident and a person who know to well about the addiction and what people don’t know about it..its all around us but again, you can never pick out a compulsive gambler…lottery, scratch tickets what do u get back from it yourself..next will be drugs and prostitution to be legal,why it wont…